Thoughts Of Ancient Roman Man Of The Modern World

Thoughts of an Ancient Roman Man of the Modern World An ancient Roman man of A.D. 100, walks throughout the hustle and bustle of New York City and instantly is reminded of how diverse in culture and peoples Roman provinces were. He would take a seat in Central Park and observe people who are talking in Spanish and another group of people talking in English. He picks up a few words here and there because he has rigorously studied Latin and Greek language and literature. He is comforted by the roads and bridges he walks on and sees. He comes across a water fountain in the park and looked around to see where the nearest aqueduct was. He would later find out that underground water pipes replaced aqueducts. Our expansion of the Roman aqueducts†¦show more content†¦Some sculptors reminded him of the Etruscan sculptors who carved each and every â€Å"flaw† on a person’s face and body. Of course, the Roman man gets tired and thirsty, so he makes his way to the nearest bar to have some wine. He was highly impressed by the wine and wished he could take back some to ancient Rome or at least find out how to make it. Upon glancing at the television, he sees presidential candidates debating. Presidential debates remind him of what he read about Cicero, a famous orator and politician, who said, â€Å"[Young men must learn to] excel in public speaking. It is the tool for controlling men at Rome.† (Hunt. 144). He wondered who Cicero would think is an excellent public speaker and would succeed in ruling this country. He takes a few glances at the other televisions in the bar and sees the action packed boxing and wrestling matches. These took him back to when he saw his first gladiatorial combat when he was a little boy. He shook his head; he thought these modern matches were too tame and this modern world doesn’t know true fighting. Thinking in depth about his childhood, he had a coming-of-age ceremony when he was about fifteen years of age. Romans practiced a coming of age ceremony for boys of the upper class. This ceremony introduced him into the public life and changed his view of the world for the better. It made him more physically and intellectually apt. A modern version of this coming-of- age ceremony would be a Bar Mitzvah for boys of the